Test scenarios

The numbers, cards and accounts that force each outcome.

In sandbox the outcome is not random, it is addressed. You pick it by choosing the phone number, the card, the bank account or the wallet you pay with. Everything on this page comes from the sandbox's list of test numbers, cards and accounts.

Mobile money

A test number is an operator prefix followed by a six digit suffix that names the outcome.

The formula

number = operator_prefix + outcome_suffix

+23767      +  000002   =  +237670000002
MTN Cameroon   failure      a payment that always fails

The six suffixes

Suffix	Outcome	What your integration sees
`000000`	Success	`payment.succeeded` after about 3 seconds
`000001`	Insufficient funds	A `402` on the charge itself, with `error_code: insufficient_funds`, as a live decline. The payment stays `pending` and `payment.attempt_failed` is sent
`000002`	Failure	`payment.failed`, refused by the operator
`000003`	Timeout	`payment.expired`, and the payment ends `expired`
`000004`	Cancelled	`payment.cancelled`, and the payment ends `cancelled`
`000009`	Success, then a refund that fails	`payment.succeeded`, then `refund.failed`

Leading zeros are tolerated

The subscriber part may carry extra leading zeros before the suffix, so +2376700000000 matches 000000 too. Anything else between the prefix and the suffix does not match, and the charge answers a 422 on data.phone that lists the numbers to use, with the prefix of the channel's operator: Invalid sandbox test number. Use a test number of the channel's operator, e.g. +237670000000 (success), +237670000001 (insufficient funds), ….

Prefixes

Twenty-six countries, sixty-seven operators: every Mobile Money channel the catalogue announces. A wallet held whatever the payer's operator, such as Capitec Pay, also takes the test number of any other operator, and its suffix still sets the outcome; a number that is no test number is refused.

Country	Operator	Prefix
CameroonCameroon	MTN MoMoMTN MoMo	`+23767`
CameroonCameroon	Orange MoneyOrange Money	`+23769`
CameroonCameroon	Express UnionExpress Union	`+23768`
CameroonCameroon	YoomeeYoomee	`+23766`
Ivory CoastIvory Coast	MTN MoMoMTN MoMo	`+22505`
Ivory CoastIvory Coast	Orange MoneyOrange Money	`+22507`
Ivory CoastIvory Coast	MoovMoov	`+22501`
Ivory CoastIvory Coast	WaveWave	`+22503`
Ivory CoastIvory Coast	Green	`+22509`
NigeriaNigeria	MTNMTN	`+2348`
NigeriaNigeria	OrangeOrange	`+2347`
SenegalSenegal	Orange MoneyOrange Money	`+22177`
SenegalSenegal	Free	`+22176`
SenegalSenegal	WaveWave	`+22178`
GhanaGhana	MTN MoMoMTN MoMo	`+23324`
GhanaGhana	Vodafone	`+23320`
GhanaGhana	AirtelAirtel	`+23326`
GhanaGhana	AirtelTigo	`+23327`
KenyaKenya	M-PesaM-Pesa	`+25470`
KenyaKenya	M-Pesa TillM-Pesa Till	`+25471`
KenyaKenya	Airtel TillAirtel Till	`+25473`
KenyaKenya	Equitel	`+25476`
KenyaKenya	T-Kash	`+25477`
KenyaKenya	AirtelAirtel	`+25478`
TanzaniaTanzania	AirtelAirtel	`+25567`
TanzaniaTanzania	Tigo	`+25565`
TanzaniaTanzania	Vodafone	`+25574`
TanzaniaTanzania	HaloPesa	`+25562`
TanzaniaTanzania	M-PesaM-Pesa	`+25576`
UgandaUganda	MTNMTN	`+25677`
UgandaUganda	AirtelAirtel	`+25675`
RwandaRwanda	MTNMTN	`+25078`
RwandaRwanda	AirtelAirtel	`+25073`
DRCDRC	AirtelAirtel	`+24399`
DRCDRC	OrangeOrange	`+24389`
DRCDRC	Vodacom	`+24381`
DRCDRC	Express UnionExpress Union	`+24382`
DRCDRC	Africell	`+24390`
BeninBenin	MTNMTN	`+22990`
BeninBenin	MoovMoov	`+22991`
BeninBenin	Glo	`+22997`
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso	OrangeOrange	`+22670`
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso	MoovMoov	`+22671`
GabonGabon	AirtelAirtel	`+2410`
GabonGabon	Express UnionExpress Union	`+2411`
GabonGabon	MoovMoov	`+2416`
CongoCongo	Express UnionExpress Union	`+24205`
CongoCongo	MTNMTN	`+24206`
CongoCongo	AirtelAirtel	`+24204`
ChadChad	Express UnionExpress Union	`+23566`
Central African RepublicCentral African Republic	Express UnionExpress Union	`+23670`
ZambiaZambia	MTNMTN	`+26096`
ZambiaZambia	AirtelAirtel	`+26097`
ZambiaZambia	Zamtel	`+26095`
MalawiMalawi	AirtelAirtel	`+26599`
MalawiMalawi	TNM	`+26588`
MaliMali	OrangeOrange	`+22370`
MaliMali	MoovMoov	`+22366`
TogoTogo	MoovMoov	`+22899`
TogoTogo	T-Money	`+22890`
GuineaGuinea	MTNMTN	`+22466`
GuineaGuinea	OrangeOrange	`+22462`
LiberiaLiberia	MTNMTN	`+23188`
MozambiqueMozambique	M-PesaM-Pesa	`+25884`
EgyptEgypt	Vodafone Cash	`+2010`
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone	OrangeOrange	`+23276`
South AfricaSouth Africa	Capitec Pay	`+2761`

Worked examples

Scenario	MTN Cameroon	Orange Ivory Coast	M-Pesa Kenya
Success	`+237670000000`	`+225070000000`	`+254700000000`
Insufficient funds	`+237670000001`	`+225070000001`	`+254700000001`
Failure	`+237670000002`	`+225070000002`	`+254700000002`
Timeout	`+237670000003`	`+225070000003`	`+254700000003`
Cancelled	`+237670000004`	`+225070000004`	`+254700000004`

Cards

The card number alone decides the outcome. The other fields must still be well formed, or the charge is refused with a 422 on the field: a holder name, an expiry as MM/YY or MM/YYYY with a year from this one to thirty years ahead, and a CVV of three or four digits. The Direct API page shows the four fields of a sandbox card charge.

Succeeds without 3D Secure

Card	Network	Outcome
`4242 4242 4242 4242`	Visa	Succeeds
`5555 5555 5555 4444`	Mastercard	Succeeds
`4000 0000 0000 5423`	Visa	Succeeds, and every refund on it fails

Requires 3D Secure

The hosted checkout asks for a code sent by email, as described in Sandbox mode. These return 202 first, and the final status arrives once the challenge is resolved.

Card	Outcome of the challenge
`4000 0566 5566 5556`	Passes, payment succeeds
`4000 0025 0000 3155`	Passes, payment succeeds
`4000 0027 6000 3184`	Passes, payment succeeds
`4000 0025 0000 3063`	Authentication fails
`4000 0025 0000 3089`	Authentication fails
`4000 0025 0000 3018`	Authenticates, then the issuer declines
`4000 0025 0000 3026`	Authenticates, then the issuer declines
`4000 0025 0000 3034`	The payer abandons the challenge
`4000 0025 0000 3042`	The payer abandons the challenge
`4000 0025 0000 3050`	The challenge times out
`4000 0025 0000 3097`	The challenge times out

Fails without 3D Secure

Card	Outcome
`4000 0000 0000 9995`	Insufficient funds
`4000 0000 0000 0002`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 9987`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 9979`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 0069`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 0127`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 0119`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 0341`	Declined
`4000 0000 0000 6975`	Declined
`4242 4242 4242 4241`	Declined

One decline, not ten reasons

Only …9995 carries a distinct reason. The other nine produce the same generic decline, so use whichever you like when testing a failure path. A card that is not on this page is refused for not being a test card.

Bank accounts

Any account number or IBAN of at least four characters is accepted. The last two digits choose the outcome.

Ends with	Outcome
`00`	Success
`01`	Insufficient funds
`02`	Failure
`03`	Timeout
`04`	Cancelled

Anything else succeeds, so an account ending in 47 simply works.

Crypto

Crypto is switched on or off for the whole sandbox platform, not per account: when it is off, the channel is not offered at all. When it is on, a crypto charge answers with crypto.deposit, and its scenarios object holds one deposit address per outcome: success, insufficient_funds, failure, timeout and canceled.

Leave wallet_address out of the charge and the payment succeeds.
Send one of the scenarios addresses as wallet_address and you get that outcome.
Any other address is refused with a 422 on data.wallet_address.

Each address is derived from the payment, the channel and the scenario (address_derivation gives the recipe), so the same test twice gives the same address. It expires after 30 minutes.

The address suffixes _success, _insufficient, _failure, _timeout and _canceled choose the outcome of a payout to a crypto beneficiary, not of a payment.

Refunds

A refund's outcome comes from the original payment, not from the refund call.

The payment was made with	The refund
`4000 0000 0000 5423`	Always fails
A number ending `000009`	Always fails
A number ending `000000`	Succeeds
Any other card, a bank account, a crypto wallet	Succeeds

The numbers ending 000001 to 000004 have no row because their payments never succeed, so there is nothing to refund: POST /refunds answers 422 with Transaction must be completed to be refunded. To test a failed refund, pay with …000009 or the card 4000 0000 0000 5423.

Transfers

A payout uses the beneficiary's details, and the same suffixes apply. A mobile money beneficiary must carry a recognised test number. A bank test account picks its outcome with its last two digits, a crypto test address with its suffix, the same way.

Suffix	The transfer	`failure_reason`
`000000`	`succeeded`
`000001`	Refused at once: `422` with `error_code: insufficient_funds`, nothing created
`000002`	`failed`	`failure`
`000003`	`failed`	`network_error`
`000004`	`failed`	`invalid_recipient`

The 422 when it does not

{

"code": 422,

"status": "Unprocessable Content",

"error_code": "invalid_test_number",

"message": "Invalid sandbox test number. Use a recognised Mobile Money test number, e.g. +237670000000 (success), +237670000001 (insufficient funds), +237670000002 (failure), +237670000003 (timeout), +237670000004 (canceled).",

"errors": {

"beneficiary": [

"Invalid sandbox test number. Use a recognised Mobile Money test number, e.g. +237670000000 (success), +237670000001 (insufficient funds), +237670000002 (failure), +237670000003 (timeout), +237670000004 (canceled)."

]

}

A transfer debits your sandbox balance, so run a successful payment first, or the payout fails for lack of funds exactly as it would in live.